Evolution in a fragmented world: the (natural) history of ancient woodland
Recently submitted PhD student Andrew Catherall will be presenting the results of his four-year research project into a cluster of ancient woods west of Cambridge. The talk will address two questions. Firstly, how can we improve the reliability of the criteria used to recognise ancient woodland? Andrew will discuss his attempts to develop new quantitative approaches to supplement the qualitative criteria usually used. Secondly, what were the evolutionary consequences of the fragmentation of the ancient Wild Wood? Andrew will present his work on the burying beetle populations of these woods, which indicates that even populations inhabiting nearby ancient woods appear to be diverging from one another.
Time: 19:00 GMT